Hubbardston plans ahead

Friday

HUBBARDSTON — The town finished putting together its capital improvement plan for fiscal years 2020-2024, highlighting the direction the town is taking in regards to large projects.

The capital improvement plan essentially works as a guideline for the capital budget, meaning it details the town's plan for renovations and big changes over the next five years. Some of these big projects include things like the town center project, in which the state will pay to repave and redesign the downtown streets, but also replacing town vehicles on a regular basis to avoid having them break down.

The capital improvement plan is made of investments and costs the town believes it needs to address in the future, though it should be noted that the plan changes and is updated over time, and not all projects receive the funding they need.

“A town should engage in long-term planning to strengthen its financial position, grants and bond ratings. It’s a best practice,” Town Administrator Ryan McLane said.

McLane worked with department heads as well as the Collins Center for Public Administration at UMass Boston to look at the needs of the town and upcoming large costs. The capital improvement plan identifies about $17 million in potential projects; including construction planning that has already been underway for the town.

“(Projects on the plan this year include) the reconstruction work on Route 68, essentially from the rec. field to Gardner,” McLane said. “The procurement for that should start in the summer. It’s on (the) state Transportation Improvement Plan, that project should be good to go.”

The town is also looking to get the town center project on the state’s Transportation Improvement Plan, which would help secure state funding. If projects do not get on the TIP, funding can be much more difficult and a project can be pushed off. More information on the town center project can be found on the town website.

“We also have the Evergreen Road bridge project with federal money and several other bridges under Municipal Small Bridge Program,” McLane said. “So those are ones where funds are coming from outside of town or tax levy.”

McLane notes that it is important to recognize that a lot of the funds on these large capital projects do not come from residents in town, and that money that the town had used on studies for projects in the past are what help secure state or federal funds in the future.

Of the roughly $17 million outlined in the capital improvement plan, over $15 million is funded nonlocally.

“We were able to be successful in advocating for these projects at state federal level,” McLane said. “Local dollars are turning into federal dollars because of planning.”

Other items on the capital improvement plan include new police cruisers on a regular basis, updates of Department of Public Works vehicles, and other repeating costs that are too big to be considered an operating cost.

The capital budget and capital projects are essentially one-time, large-scale projects. While the town has to regularly replace vehicles for the Police Department or Fire Department, the purchasing of a car is considered a one-time expense different from an operating budget.

“They put almost 300,000 miles a year on a cruiser, it’s a lot of wear and tear,” McLane said. “When you replace them it should be cyclical, so they can always respond to emergencies. It’s not a surprise they wear out so they should plan for that.”

McLane and UMass are made aware of needs by department heads; as they are asked to report about these large upcoming expenses. The plan then looks at potential timelines and organizes the projects.

The operating budget covers things that are needed in the day to day operations, like new uniforms, office expenses, and other things.

In explaining the importance of planning ahead, McLane gives an example of avoiding road work issues. Capital planning can avoid a town redoing a road, only to find out that they have to cut into the road and redo the pipes the following year, wasting time and money.

“It’s building public trust that these expenditures are being planned, so when we ask for votes on them at town meeting there’s a level of confidence that these aren’t wants, they are needs,” McLane said.

Another part of the plan is to revitalize the Capital Improvement Committee, a committee that focuses on keeping an eye on capital expenses so it can update the plan as the years move on, keeping the direction of the town's purchases up-to-date.

“We want the committee to be another voice during the budgeting process,” McLane said. “To analyze capital needs of the town, and project forward what the needs will be and offer recommendations on how to fund that plan. If this is the best practice, our department heads will know they can submit plans to them and when they are needed to make sure we are keeping up with capital.”

The committee currently has two vacancies.

The capital budget and improvement plan will be discussed at a budget presentation currently set for Feb. 19 at 6:30 in the Slade Building, and will be discussed at meetings prior to votes on capital expenses at Town Meeting in June.

The capital improvement plan can be found on the town’s website.

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